He Might Have Good Reason
by jenbachand
Summary: Pepper wonders about the tension between Tony and Steve. Gift fic for shippygrl who has her own personal head canon about Howard/Peggy/Steve. Has a twist from traditional canon, but plausible. Thanks to shippygrl and snarkypants for the betas.


**TITLE:** He Might Have Good Reason

**AUTHOR:** jenbachand

**PAIRING:** Tony/Pepper with a side of Captain America (Steve Rogers)

**RATING:** General

**SPOILERS:** For the Avengers movie.

**DISCLAIMER:** I made no money from the writing of this fic.

**SUMMARY:** Pepper wonders about the tension between Tony and Steve.

**NOTES:** Inspired by new fandom love, well expanded fandom love. Inspired by shippygrl's request of her personal head canon and she did a great beta job as well. Also thanks for the secondl look by snarkypants.

* * *

It's not often that Tony has Steve Rogers over, but he's here tonight. The two heroes are going over the countless reports that were delivered by Phil's replacement. It still makes Pepper sad what happened to Phil. This new woman, Fury's right hand supposedly, seems a bit too, well, she can't quite put her finger on it yet. But she knows something's off with Agent Hill.

There's some weird tension between Tony and Steve that Pepper hasn't figured out. Tony's dismissive "Cap" bothers her a bit, as he's talking to a war hero and, well, his elder. Then there's the whole history with Howard Stark and Captain America and the War. But she's not sure where the tension exactly comes from. Howard was a bit of a force of nature (and a big old horndog, if the old society columns she's come across are to be believed). Pepper imagines Tony inherited his joie de vivre, arrogance, and style from his dad. But surely the Captain isn't blaming the son for the sins of the father.

They just defeated an alien army and a deranged demi-god. They could be a bit friendlier.

She brings the plate of sandwiches and tray of drinks and sets them on the table where the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are going over the intel reports. There are videos up all over the screens and she really has no desire to see Tony be in danger. Again. As she starts to leave them to their homework, Tony grabs her around the waist and pulls her into his lap.

"Just where do you think you're going, young lady?" Tony asks and kisses her. That their relationship has taken on this easy love after all of his years as a playboy still astounds her. She kisses him back with a smile, and that's when she sees it. A wistful longing mixed with curiosity on Steve's face.

"I was just about to go see if I could find a decent crab cake at this time in New York," Pepper replied.

"Well I might be persuaded to grab something from that little shack in Maryland we visited a while back. I could pop down there and pick up some take-out if you make it worth my while later," Tony says as he stands up, Pepper still held firm in his arms. He sets her on her feet and is already headed to the launch platform when he states, "I'll be back before the Cap here can sort through half of this."

Pepper laughs as he takes off. J.A.R.V.I.S. puts a map with Tony's flight path on part of one of the screens so that she can keep an eye on her boss-turned-lover. She turns to look at Steve; she's determined to get to the bottom of this thing between him and Tony.

"I've read your file," Pepper decides it's time to get down to brass tacks. "Your handler, Peggy Carter. Were you in love with her?"

Captain America is standing in her living room and looking a bit put out by her question. Pepper raises her eyebrows, not backing down. Steve runs a hand through his hair and takes a seat on the couch.

"Yeah, I was. I think she was in love with me too. But then there was the whole being frozen in the North Atlantic and not aging thing." He takes a deep breath and continues. "I think about what we could have had if I hadn't crashed. Would we have gotten hitched or would we have been forever on missions to save freedom?" He's staring off, looking down the long road of memory that for him has a seventy year gap. "I was never really that good with women. Especially before the whole 'turn me into a superhero' thing. But Peggy, she was special. Fierce, determined, and the best part was she didn't take any lip from anyone. She shut Howard up more times than he'd probably care to count." He gives a sad little laugh.

"You remind me of her a lot, the way you handle Tony. He's lucky to have you," Steve turns and looks at Pepper and she feels herself blush.

"We're lucky to have each other," she replies. She offers a smile and a determined set to her shoulders. She is thankful every day for Tony's resilience and his brilliance, for the fact that he was able to get himself out of that cave and back to her.

"Did you ever look her up? See what happened to her after the war and she left the Strategic Scientific Reserve?" Pepper picks at a stray cuticle on her thumb, worried she's overstepped and will upset her guest. She hadn't perused any of the files other than the Avengers Initiative members, so she didn't know this woman's history either.

"No. Couldn't put myself through the torture. I heard that she got married and had a kid, but I didn't want to find out more." He sits back and closes his eyes. Pepper realizes this is probably all she'll get about the Captain and his love.

"So, what's with the aggression with Tony then? You two almost seem civil at times, but there's like this undercurrent." Steve opens his eyes to look at Pepper and furrows his brow. "I think it could be detrimental to the team, so I'd like to try to get it settled before the next Big Bad decides to try to kill us all."

"I guess, I don't know. I guess it's his attitude. He reminds me of his father." He sits up on the edge of the couch and puts his elbows on his knees. "And while they are two of the greatest minds I've ever met, they both bother me. They treat women, or did treat women, like they're objects to be played with and put away. It's that they know they're the smartest person in the room and make no bones about telling you about it."

"Tony's changed," Pepper retorts, and holds up a hand to fend off any comments. "Yes, he's arrogant and brilliant and casual about flaunting both, but this whole Iron Man thing, it's made him a better man. Of course I never had the chance to meet Howard, but from the stories I've heard, once he decided on Maria, there was never another woman in his life. He adored her. I've seen the home movies."

Pepper is smiling as she remembers stumbling across the files while she was CEO of Stark Industries. Tony had been a cute and rambunctious kid. The Starks had been an adorable couple and you could tell Howard doted on Maria.

"I just think you should give him another chance to prove he's not his father," Pepper stands up and stretches. The map on the screen shows Tony getting closer so she heads towards the kitchen to grab some plates. "Plus I'll have a word with Tony about dialing back the attitude. Though I'm not sure how successful that will be. I think it's in his DNA."

Steve laughs and Pepper has learned when to let things go. She makes a note to make sure to have that word with Tony and hopefully at least bring about an easing in the tension between the two men.

A few weeks later when Pepper is sorting through some boxes in the house in Malibu, she finds something. Something that could give Steve Rogers a very good reason to carry a grudge against Howard Stark if he ever came across it. In a box labeled "Family Papers" she finds the Starks' marriage certificate.

It is a license for the marriage of Howard Stark to Margaret Maria Carter née Carbonell.


End file.
